Bizet Carmen
A new lease of life for a greatly admired filmed opera capturing some convincing performances from its charismatic leads
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Georges Bizet
Genre:
Opera
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: 8/2000
Media Format: Digital Versatile Disc
Media Runtime: 149
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDR10530
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Carmen |
Georges Bizet, Composer
Accurzio di Leo, Guide, Speaker Faith Esham, Micaëla, Soprano François Le Roux, Morales, Baritone French National Orchestra French Radio Chorus Georges Bizet, Composer Gérard Garino, Remendado, Tenor Jean-Philippe Lafont, Dancaïre, Tenor John Paul Bogart, Zuniga, Bass Julia Migenes (Johnson), Carmen, Mezzo soprano Julien Guiomar, Lillas Pastia, Speaker Lillian Watson, Frasquita, Soprano Lorin Maazel, Conductor Plácido Domingo, Don José, Tenor Ruggero Raimondi, Escamillo, Baritone Susan Daniel, Mercedes, Soprano |
Author: mscott rohan
Bizet had to subdue Carmen’s realism to placate the Opera-Comique’s petit-bourgeois sensibilities. Francesco Rosi reinjects a powerful dose of authentic Spain to create one of the most successful opera films ever – and, as this DVD release brings out, one of the most visually stunning. At its core is a soundtrack performance (using the Oeser edition with rewritten dialogue) which ranks highly even as a CD release (9/85). Maazel’s buoyant lightness and edgy rhythmic energy are suitably Gallic, and his principals are visually and vocally compelling.
Migenes, looking ideally Mediterranean and exotic among Andalusians, was never a natural Carmen, forcing her tangy soprano downwards; but she triumphs over that with a vivid, sultry delivery and wild but unsluttish characterisation which, as was said of Regina Resnik, ‘puts the groin back in Carmen’. Her French is excellent, spoken and sung. Domingo’s is, as usual, terrible, but will do for a ‘Basque espagnol’. Singing even more superbly than for Solti (9/85), he makes a credible figure, initially stiff-necked but bottling up vulnerability and violence. Raimondi’s toreador is rightly less fatuous than usual, suggesting strong feelings beneath the charisma and adroitly balancing the role’s awkward blend of bravura and lyrical chanson. Esham’s Micaela is vocally lean but visually winsome, and other singers, notably Lilian Watson’s Frasquita, are excellent.
Rosi overcomes the weaknesses of lip-sync less by long-shot, as has been suggested, than careful camera angles and deft, musically sensitive cutting. De Santis’s photography meshes gloriously with the rich hues of the score, drawing lyricism from gritty realism – including some grisly bullfight imagery – with real distinction. DVD captures the sound and the hard-edged Spanish sunlight with a clarity which eclipses video versions and even most cinema prints. Strongly recommended.'
Migenes, looking ideally Mediterranean and exotic among Andalusians, was never a natural Carmen, forcing her tangy soprano downwards; but she triumphs over that with a vivid, sultry delivery and wild but unsluttish characterisation which, as was said of Regina Resnik, ‘puts the groin back in Carmen’. Her French is excellent, spoken and sung. Domingo’s is, as usual, terrible, but will do for a ‘Basque espagnol’. Singing even more superbly than for Solti (9/85), he makes a credible figure, initially stiff-necked but bottling up vulnerability and violence. Raimondi’s toreador is rightly less fatuous than usual, suggesting strong feelings beneath the charisma and adroitly balancing the role’s awkward blend of bravura and lyrical chanson. Esham’s Micaela is vocally lean but visually winsome, and other singers, notably Lilian Watson’s Frasquita, are excellent.
Rosi overcomes the weaknesses of lip-sync less by long-shot, as has been suggested, than careful camera angles and deft, musically sensitive cutting. De Santis’s photography meshes gloriously with the rich hues of the score, drawing lyricism from gritty realism – including some grisly bullfight imagery – with real distinction. DVD captures the sound and the hard-edged Spanish sunlight with a clarity which eclipses video versions and even most cinema prints. Strongly recommended.'
Bizet Carmen
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